Kyodo News International: HANOI, May 14 (Kyodo) _ A
Vietnamese court on Wednesday handed down death sentences
on eight members of a ring that smuggled 141 kilograms of heroin
from Laos to Vietnam.

The Hanoi People's Court also sentenced eight to life
imprisonment and six to prison terms ranging from one to 20 years
at the end of Vietnam's largest drugs trial, which lasted 11 days.

The justended session of Vietnam's National Assembly amended
the country's penal code to stiffen punishments for drugrelated
crimes, with death sentences to be meted out to those possessing
or trafficking 100 grams or more of heroin.

The 22 persons standing trial included eight senior police officers,
three border guard officers, and a Laotian.

Police said they learned about the ring after a Laotian who was
arrested and sentenced to death for trafficking some 15 kg of
heroin from Laos to Vietnam divulged the names of the people
involved just moments before he faced the firing squad.

As of April, 40 alleged ring members, including 12 police officers
and four border guards, had been arrested, police said.

The trial and the topic of drug trafficking and abuse have received
major coverage in the media in recent days, with reports of
government and National Assembly officials voicing concern
about the scourge of drugs on the country's youth.

[Copyright 1997, Kyodo News International]